According to this article posted on today's MSN.com, talking on a cell phone is 5 time more dangerous than driving while drunk. Further, it doesn't matter if you are talking on a hand held or hands free.

What do you think? Do you agree?




THURSDAY, June 29 (HealthDay News) -- Maneuvering through traffic while talking on the phone increases the likelihood of an accident five-fold and is actually more dangerous than driving drunk, U.S. researchers report.

First paragraph, balance of article at the following link.

http://health.msn.com/healthnews/articlepa...38628>1=8211

 

I don't find it all that surprising. I've always considered it as driving while impaired.
And a few other things that I won't mention here.

 

I think the study is interesting but that one cannot use it to justify a simplification such as "talking on a cell phone is five times more dangerous than driving while drunk".

For one thing, as soon as you hang up the phone you are no longer impaired, while it takes hours to become "undrunk". It is also easier to pick and choose the time you are talking on the phone.

(FWIW, I don't even own a cell phone, much less drive with one.)

 

As an observer of life in these United States more often than not when one cannot figure out why someone is driving the way that they are (i.e. going under the speed limit in the left lane) they are on the phone.

Personally, I wish we would adopt Germany's law regarding mobile phones. Where NO ONE in a moving vehicle can be on a mobile phone. The rational is that if pulled over that the driver will simply hand the phone to a passenger. Germany with their unlimited speeds on the Autobahn (even though the percentage of the Autobahn that has unlimited speeds is unfortunately down to less than fifteen percent of the total mileage) has the lowest accident death rate in the world per miles traveled.

They take driving seriously. No phones, stay right pass left, etc. VERY strict DUI laws. It is a pleasure to drive there.

Just my .02

Speaking of being an observer of life: It would be interesting to see how Vintage folks do with this everyday life test? I will start a new thread with the quiz.

 

I've seen too many people driving without paying attention to the actual task of driving. It is absolutely maddening. But what can we do? I don't want my blood pressure to go up because of people like that.

 

Mike,

I think you are splitting hairs. I don't think they meant that the drunk stays drunk while the phone user hangs up. I think they were referring to the duration of the call in that in the 10 minutes (for example) that the cell phone user is on the phone, he/she is more dangerous than a drunk would be in that same 10 minutes.

 

Driving while talking on a cell phone is certainly worse than with an alcohol level of .08 which is really nowhere near drunk (which is the level of the study

 

http://www.sluggy.com/daily.php?date=060515

 

I'm guilty of it on rare occasions, and I know it's not the right thing to do.

It's a distraction.

 

You cannot compare driving in America to most places in Europe. The population density is not the same. The education and economic level of the drivers are not the same (95% of the people in WI north of Milwaukee drive, the other 5% or quite poor or in nursing homes). The training requirements and on going tests are not the same, and never will be.

So like everyone we just deal and bitch about the laws we don't like, the drivers we don't like, and the patrolman we don't like.